Now I want to get into criterium racing.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

Yes, but not so much the crashes ...

ouch.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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Bingo. Crit crashes are routine. In addition to bodily injury, the equipment damage becomes expensive.

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Proud Representative of Slowtwitch Anti-Atheists Society.

Not worried at all about equipment damage.
It is the body damage that can you take you out of competing for life.

But crits are not too crazy, it is crits on track bikes that is really crazy (as in this race)

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I'll bet the the death rate is WAY higher per 1000 in triathlon racing......

And think about the med tent at an IM. You will never see that at a crit......

Crit racing dose have a small danger factor, but not as high as people make it out to be.

You never see it at a criterium because there are so many more competitors at IM than a criterium. Further, a substantial portion of IMers are bucket-listers... Ain't no bucket-listers in a crit. Granted, I've done neither an IM nor a criterium; however, I feel that the med tents at IM are swamped due more to nutrition mistakes than harm inflicted by cycling wrecks.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

I agree. You can't depict mountain biking without both wheels in the air and you can't talk about criteriums without showing carnage but many races go on with no incident and most crashes require no more than bandages for medical care. They are thrilling races to take part in and great fun to watch. As a slow twitcher I was never very good at them but they are a rush. I hope to see the episode but I fear that most people will come away with an impression that bike racers are adrenaline junkies or have a death wish. In many respects it is similar to auto racing but I doubt if a documentary on that subject would have the same slant or take away message for viewers.

A 2000-person IM will have 28,000 person-hours of athletic endeavour, with each participant working hard for 10+ hours.

A 100-person 45-minute crit will have 75 person-hours of athletic endeavour.

It is not surprising that an IM will have a fuller med-tent given the much longer duration and much larger field.

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STAC Zero Trainer - Zero noise, zero tire contact, zero moving parts. Suffer in Silence starting fall 2016

One of our local racers won the race in italy last year, my wife interviewed her and wrote an article on her and the race:

http://texasbikeracing.com/kickin-ash/

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

A few things:

Most olympic distance triathlons don't have a huge medical tent, like most IM events. Olympic distance is a far better comparison to a bike racing crit.

And then, you gotta remember, this isn't your local neighborhood crit. Most crits are (relatively) safe.

This is a crit on track bikes, bikes without brakes. At night. With a big field.
Any way you cut it, that is gonna be a risky proposition.

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Most crits I have been to have an ambulance sitting there, or at least medics present and ambulance on speed dial.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I actually prefer criteriums to road races.

Citerium and TT: Go out and ride as hard as I can for an hour
Road Race: Go for a 60 mile coffee ride and get sketchy the last mile.

A crit on track bikes in the rain. No way. No how. No thank you.

Also applicable to many high speed or contact sports: skiing, ice hockey, football, soccer etc.

I'm aware of more people who've ruined their knees playing sports when they were young than cyclists who couldn't ride due to crashes.

Me too but I'm aware of more dead cyclists, paralyzed cyclists or cyclists with decreased brain function that I am from normal sports*

*I don't know many football players

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Mott's rule of cycling #734:
It is never appropriate to complain about a race being too slow, because if it was, you could have attacked.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Ha good point, and I do plenty of that. Unfortunately I'm a pretty good at TT's and everyone local knows it so they chase me down every damn time.

You need a partner in crime or two, linked attacks!

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Living near the mountains I hear of far more deaths from skiing and hiking than any other sports but that doesn't stop me or my kids from participating. I'm an optimist so nothing bad will happen to me.

Sounds you area needs to channel a bit more Jens Voigt. Why not try an attack next time!

 
A crit on the track = scratch race

A crit on the track with math involved = points race

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Got you beat. One of our local racers placed 2nd in overall series standings.

I've raced probably 70-80 crits over the past 5-6 years, everything from Cat 5, to Pro/1/2. And a lot of big-time crits with 100+ in the field. I've crashed once. And that wasn't a serious crash. No road rash.

I firmly believe that not crashing is a skill. And the skills for not crashing are overlap nicely with the skills for placing well.

Would totally agree with you. The brain trauma from american football especially is something that is very dangerous, especially with huge monied interests (the nfl) trying to cover it up at all levels (don't believe it? check out this video).

And I totally appreciate the calculated risks in cycling. Kind of part of life and freedom of choice. Whether it be a crit on road bikes, or a velodrome race on track bikes.

But a mass start road crit on (brakeless) track bikes?
At night?
Uh, that's a whole different level of crazy.
Not my cup of tea.

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